Killer Instinct Genesis: Special Edition
by Perfect Kaos
Summary: The brother and sister combination of Jago and Orchid, who were separated at a young age, must work together to save the world, while discovering the truth about their origins and coming to terms with their lives.
1. Genesis:Preface

Killer Instinct Genesis - Special Edition:00 - Preface 

"From the ashes of destruction, the seeds of life grow anew; this is the genesis of all things." 

France 

*All Dialogue Translated From French   


It was a beautiful day.   
The sun shone brightly overhead, casting golden rays of light upon everything it could touch. Men, women, and children ran about happily, on the sidewalks and the stonewashed streets, doing whatever they pleased. A few horses pulling carts leisurely made their way up and down the roads, carrying either people or produce. It was such a nice day, that shopkeepers stood outside of their stores, greeting each and every passer-by. There were a few vendors that had outdoor shops, with large wooden tables and cases displaying their goods. A handful of bluebirds skipped about on the street, following the people and the horses in their hopeful pursuit of their next meal. On a day such as this, it would be impossible not to feel content.   
Yet, there was one person who wasn't. He glided down the street, seemingly absorbed in his own world. He was tall and slender, and walked with a quick stride. He had dark brown hair, which was pulled back and tied behind his head. He had a hard face, and soft, blue eyes. He was wearing a green cotton shirt, with a zipper neck, a black turtleneck underneath, and black slacks with black boots. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and while his eyes were transfixed on the sidewalk in front of him, he seemed to barely notice that it was actually there.   
Moments after this man passed by one of the streets shops, a woman quickly emerged. She was short and round, with long eyelashes and red cheeks. She had dark eyes, and equally dark hair, which flowed freely behind her. Her clothing consisted of red and gold shawls, which were loosely wrapped around her.   
She stood on the sidewalk, looking down at first, then up. She quickly scanned each person, seemingly looking for something. Suddenly, her eyes caught exactly what she was looking for.   
"Sir! Sir!" She called out. Her voice had a Mediterranean accent to it. "Sir, please stop!"   
A few gentlemen turned around, but not the one she sought.   
"Sir! Please sir!"   
Finally, the man in the green shirt turned around. The woman ran up to him, and grabbed him by the arm. "Sir, I felt it, I felt it when you walked by! I felt it stronger than ever!"   
"Excuse me madam, but what are you talking about?"   
"Please sir, I need your help. I need to do a reading on you. It's very important!"   
"Look madam, I don't really have the time…"   
"Please sir! I'll pay you if that's what it takes. Please, it's very important!"   
The man shrugged. "Aw, okay. This won't take too long, right?"   
"No, no, no time at all! Oh, thank you, thank you!" Still holding onto his arm, she began to drag him down the street, and into her shop.   
The shop was radically different from the scene outside. The blinds had been pulled over the windows, blocking out most of the sunlight from outside. It was very dark, with only an odd colored red light hanging overhead. The walls were cluttered with posters, from end to end and on top of each other. They were of many various different things; one was for a traveling circus, another was a travel poster for Rome. There was a bench type seat attached to the left wall, and a round, wooden table in the center of the room. Near the back, there was a doorway that led to a darkened room. At the entrance, strings of colored beads hung down.   
"Please, have a seat." The woman directed him to the bench chair. "I'll just be a moment."   
The man did as told, while the woman disappeared behind the beaded doorway. It was pretty easy to figure out that the woman was some sort of fortuneteller. He didn't believe in such things. Fate was something that was determined day to day, and couldn't be foreseen. Each man was the master of his own destiny; there was no one else pulling the strings. Perhaps there was a higher power, a God, somewhere in the universe, but he didn't put creatures on this planet just to follow a scripted plan.   
After a few more moments, a young couple exited from the beaded door. The fortuneteller was behind them.   
"Thank you, thank you for everything!" The young man said.   
"Of course." The fortuneteller smiled. "Your baby boy will be strong and healthy."   
The man didn't think the young woman looked particularly pregnant.   
The fortuneteller watched the couple leave, then gestured to the man. "Thank you for waiting, please, come this way."   
The man stood and followed her through the beaded doorway. He entered a small, dark room. There was another round table in the center, with two chairs at opposite ends, and a dim red light hanging above from the ceiling. In the center of the table, there was a lighted candle within a red-tinted, balloon shaped cover. Anything else in the room was indistinguishable, as it was too dark to see clearly.   
The man quickly stepped in front of the fortuneteller, and pulled out her chair for her. She thanked him and sat down, then he took his seat. The fortuneteller took a moment to straighten herself and her clothes, then folded her arms in front of her on the table, and smiled.   
"Before we begin, let us introduce ourselves, no? My name is Rosarita."   
The man nodded. "My friends call me Shadow. It's a pleasure."   
Rosarita smiled again. "Well, I know this is an inconvenience to you, so I'll get to the point and make this short. As you have probably figured out by now, I am a fortuneteller. Ever since I was a young girl, I have been able to see into people futures. However, for the past few weeks, I have been receiving visions without focusing on one person. These visions concern the whole world, and they're very, very dark. But, they're more like passing dreams, a blur of consciousness, come and gone in an instant."   
Shadow raised an eye. "Okay…so, what does any of this have to do with me?"   
"When you passed in front of my door…I felt it. I saw my visions clearer than I ever have, and I felt something dark, something…horrible. I think that, whatever it is that's coming, you may be in some way connected."   
At this point, Shadow figured that Rosarita wasn't in good mental health. But, he did promise he would cooperate, so at the very least he would play along.   
"I want to look into your future." Rosarita said. "Maybe I'll get some insight into these premonitions I've been getting."   
Shadow shrugged. "Fair enough. What do you want me to do?"   
Rosarita extended her right hand. "Give me your hand, and just relax, and open your mind."   
Shadow gave her his hand. He also took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.   
"Shadow, I just want to thank you for doing this for me. I know you don't believe in this fate stuff." Rosarita said. "Now, clear your thoughts, and open your mind."   
She took a deep breath, and began to use the gift that had been given to her as a young girl. Within her own mind, as if it were a memory of her own, or part of her own imagination, she began to see images of Shadow's future. It began not unlike most other readings she's done. She saw a plane, and a trip to another country. She saw a beautiful, dark haired woman. She saw Shadow fighting someone, but that wasn't too unusual, as she could tell he was some sort of warrior.   
From here, things twisted.   
There was a building made entirely out of metal. It had an overwhelming dark presence. There was a man, who didn't have any eyes. There was another man, consumed by fire. Yet another, consumed by ice. And finally, there was a man, who looked like he was wearing some sort of metal suit. He had sharp, triangular red eyes, which glowed fiercely. There was a blue aura around him. Suddenly, the visions just stopped. They cut off abruptly, as if someone had pulled a plug inside of her head. Only a few times had she ever encountered that. It usually was bad news for the person she was reading. Rosarita trembled, and pulled away.   
"Ma'am, are you all right?" Shadow asked.   
Rosarita buried her face in her hands. "I…yes. I'm just a little overwhelmed. Give me a moment, please."   
"Those visions…" She thought. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. I know this man is connected to those dark premonitions. But I'm afraid…his future doesn't go far enough. Perhaps…perhaps I can jump fates. In the past, I have gotten faint readings on acquaintances…maybe I can do it again? That dark haired woman…perhaps her…"   
Rosarita took a deep breath, and ran her hands through her hair. "Okay, I'm ready now." She held out her hand again, and Shadow took it. Rosarita repeated the process of looking into his future. As was always the case with second readings, she received a few more images than before. Another man…or was it a wolf? A dinosaur of some kind…was it symbolic? There was another image of the dark haired woman. Rosarita stopped there, and focused on this woman. And then the darkness intensified, one hundred times stronger than before.   
Shadow watched nervously as Rosarita squirmed and contorted uncomfortably. Shadow still didn't believe in this stuff, but whatever was happening to her, it sure wasn't good.   
"No! No!" Rosarita whispered.   
The discomfort intensified for the fortuneteller. Shadow wanted to pull away from her, and stop whatever was happening, but he couldn't. She gripped his hand tightly, almost causing him pain. With each passing second, it only got worse.   
"No!" Rosarita screamed, pulling away.   
"What? What is it?" Shadow asked.   
Rosarita clutched her chest, her eyes large and full of terror. She breathed heavily, in accented breaths. "It…I…by God…it's the end. I can't believe it. It really is the end."   
"What? What's the end? The end of what?"   
Rosarita closed her eyes blankly, rubbing them with her fingertips as if she could erase whatever it was she saw. She shook her head, trying to collect herself. "Well…thank you, Mr. Shadow. You…you were of great assistance." She reached to her right, and picked up a black purse. "I said I'd pay you, so I'll live up to that."   
Shadow stood up, and shook his head. "No no Madam, don't worry about it. But please, tell me, what did you see?"   
Rosarita hung her head. "Remember…you don't believe in this stuff, right? Each man makes his own destiny? Well, you'll have plenty of destiny to make in the next few days."   
Shadow gave her a funny look. What did she mean by that?   
"Thank you for your help, again." Rosarita said.   
"Uh…sure…no problem." Shadow gave Rosarita another final look, then turned and left.   
Rosarita watched him leave, then slumped over heavily, her head collapsing on her arms on the table. She began to sob softly into her forearms.   
"Oh God, oh God no…that day has finally arrived. That day we have feared since our creation. Can this really be it?"   
  


Shadow sat at one of the tables at a nice, outdoor café. The tables were white, with green umbrellas over them, and the chairs were made of wicker. Shadow had a lot of things on his mind, only one of which was what the fortuneteller said. He still didn't believe in such things, but somehow, whatever happened in there still spooked him.   
But, there were more important concerns at hand. Shadow lived a lifestyle that worked for a very specific purpose, but now that purpose had passed. Now, things were less than ideal. He wanted, needed, a change. But he didn't think that he could do it alone.   
At one of the other tables, a man sat, dressed completely in black. He was working with a sketchpad, and seemed to be drawing a picture of the street in front of him. He also had a radio, from which a sad violin and piano concerto played. The volume had been turned up so that everyone in the café and on the street could hear it. However, it was such a beautiful piece, that no one minded hearing it. Shadow was actually enjoying it.   
Suddenly, the music was cut off. This got everyone's attention, as they all stopped whatever it was that they were doing, and looked over at the artist. The artist examined the radio for a moment, and then shrugged as if to say, "I didn't do it." Next, a deep voice could be heard over the radio, speaking in French.   
"Standby for an important announcement from the Ultratech Corporation." The voice said.   
"Ultratech?" Shadow thought.   
"Hello peoples of the world. You probably already know me as Robert Sheridan, the president of Ultratech Corporation, the leader of cutting edge technology." The radio voice said. "Aside from our great technological advances we contribute to the entire world, you may also know us as the sponsors of the popular Killer Instinct tournament. And it is Killer Instinct that I wish to talk about now, and why I have broken in on your TV's, radios, phones, etc."   
"That's awfully inconsiderate of him." Shadow thought. "I was enjoying that song. But, I have heard of Killer Instinct. That's supposed to be that great martial arts tournament, no?"   
"As you know, Killer Instinct gathers 10 of the greatest martial artists in the world and pits them against each other in the ultimate battle of fame and glory. The winner is crowned champion for one year, and gets one wish, any wish, he or she wants fulfilled."   
"What?" Shadow said, his attention perking. "Any one wish? Can they really do that?" He gasped to himself. "If they could really fulfill any one wish…then maybe, just maybe…they could fulfill mine. It seems like an impossibility, but still…it's maybe it's worth a try…"   
"I am making a call, to all warriors of the world, if you believe that you are the best fighter this planet has to offer, come to the Ultratech Corporation in New York, America, and sign up for KI8. We will hold preliminaries out of all the new blood to show up, to determine who gets the 3 or more spots. Come sign up, after all, what have you to lose? I am looking forward to another great exhibition or martial arts skills, and I hope the rest of you are too. Thank you all, and good night."   
Shadow stood up. "Killer Instinct, eh? Why not? After all, I've got nothing to lose, like he said. Looks like I'll be going to America."   
  



	2. Genesis:01

Killer Instinct Genesis - Special Edition:01 

2132 Years Ago   
North American Continent – East Coast 

A small wind blew through the four-foot high grass and twice as tall bushes of the ancient land. Trees stood proudly every two or three feet, casting their shadow over everything. Wild and exotic flowers blossomed from every possible angle. The landscape was so lush, that even sunlight had a hard time getting though all the greenery. However, in just a few hundred years, creatures known as humans would come along, mow the grass and cut down the trees. The wildlife would scamper away, fearing for their own survival. These humans would erect crude structures, in which they lived and worked. These buildings would evolve over the years, some of them becoming so tall that they would scrape the sky. Metal and concrete would be used in place of mud and grass. Nature having been defeated, the humans would eventually come to call this area New York.   
Now, there was only one building, serving as a foreshadowing omen of what was to come. The building was only two stories tall, but it was impressively wide. The outside of the building was made from cold gray steel; making the building an eyesore among the green. This was the Ultratech Corporation.   
The inside of the building was no less impressive. The halls were made out of the same gray steel that the outside of the building was composed of. Video monitors and computer terminals were embedded in the walls, providing limited information access. Doors appeared every now and then; the room name was written in blue on the right side of the door, with "Ultratech Corporation" appearing on the left. There were small computer terminals to the immediate right of every door; they seemed to control door functions. Light panels were embedded in the ceiling, providing artificial illumination to the gray environment.   
With all it's steel and computers, Ultratech was truly a structure of the future. It was easily the most advanced building of its time, a complete oddity in ancient America. Anybody who walked down an Ultratech hallway would surely be struck with awe and amazement.   
On all days except this one.   
Fires burned freely at various different points in the halls. Some of the doors slid pointlessly back and forth, as the automatic control wasn't quite working the way it should. All of the computer terminals either displayed a flashing red "Emergency Alert", static, or nothing at all. In some places, the steel walls had been ripped or blasted open, with wreckage lying about carelessly. Light fixtures had collapsed, swinging back and forth in the middle of the hall, tossing sparks to and fro.   
One of the malfunctioning doors closed just enough to let the room name become visible; "Control Room." It then slid open again, exposing the interior of the room. Two men could be seen standing at odds against each other. Actually, only one of them was a man. The other appeared to be a cyborg.   
Fulgore 2 stood a few feet away from the door. He was an intimidating 6'5". His entire body consisted of light brown steel plates, except for the joints, which looked to be black rubber. His head was round but his face took on a triangular appearance. His eyes were nothing more than two red right triangles. The cyborg had no nose or mouth. The chest plates were very angular, with defined lines and curves. Claws jutted out from contusions on his forearms. Two to an arm, they glowed a light blue from the potent plasma energy they were filled with. Each claw was shaped like a harpoon; the main blade stuck out about a foot from the end of Fulgore 2's fist, and about halfway down the blade, a secondary blade spiked upwards with the point facing the opposite direction. Normally, Fulgore 2 was a sight to behold. However, his current appearance was very dilapidated. Wires were coming out of his battered frame, one LCD eye was shattered, and his right claw was broken and leaking plasma. There was a cut that ran across the right side of his face; it started on his forehead, went across his shattered right eye, and ended about midway down his jaw. One of the wires attached to his neck had been cut and was leaking oil.   
Jago, across the other side of the room looked no better. Although he was 5'9", he appeared to be quite small when compared in the same context with Fulgore 2. He wore a blue tunic with a black turtleneck underneath. A blue mask covered his nose and mouth, and he wore the hood of the tunic on his head. With black gloves on his hands and black boots on his feet, the only part of him exposed to the world was his eyes. He had rounded soft green eyes. Jago's tunic was slashed in several places, blood dripping down his arms and legs. His eyes kept closing quickly and opening slowly; a sign that he was close to passing out.   
Jago stood in front of the main computer terminal of the Control Room. Positioned on the back wall, the video monitor went from the top of the wall to about halfway down. It was as wide as the wall itself. At the bottom of the monitor, a computer terminal jutted out a few feet away from the wall. Like the video monitor, it was as wide as the wall itself. There were numerous flashing lights and colored panel, but no actual buttons. The keys were all touch sensitive.   
The whole room was basically CPU terminals and video monitors, circling around the perimeter of the room and another set making neatly arranged rows in the center. Like the monitors in the halls, most of the monitors in the Control Room displayed either "Emergency Alert", static, or nothing at all. The main interface, however, was quite different. What was special about the terminal Jago was standing in front of was that the monitor displayed one very important thing. It was-   
  
  
  
  


**_WARNING!_**   
**_REACTOR INTERNAL PRESSURE AT 65% AND RISING! EXPLOSION IMMINENT_**   


  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Fulgore 2 eyed the Tibetan warrior. "Move or be moved." He said. His voice was mostly human, but with a hint of artificiality.   
"You're welcome to try." Jago replied.   
"You would throw away your life just to see me dead?" Fulgore 2 questioned.   
Jago smiled under his mask. "Maybe I would. But not today. I have an out. You are the loser here."   
"Then you've made your choice; to be moved." Fulgore 2 took the last of his energy reserves, and charged at Jago; who was waiting for him. He ducked Fulgore 2's fierce punch, then thrust himself upward with fist extended, catching Fulgore 2 under the chin and launching him up. The cyborg flipped over in mid air, then finally crashed down to the ground on his face; he didn't move after that. Jago stared at Fulgore 2 until he was convinced that the cyborg was dead; he then pressed several buttons on the terminal next to him. The screen now displayed   
  
  
  
  


**_TIMESHIFT2: ECHO GATE_**   
**_DESTINATION: +2132:04:16:32_**   
**_GATE OPENS IN *00:00:30*_**   


  
  
  
  
  


Jago rushed out of the Control Room and to the gate where he would return home. After the sound of footsteps diminished from the site of the battle, Fulgore 2 began to stir. He dragged himself to a chair and pulled himself up. Hanging over the back of the chair, he could barely reach the control panel, but he did and proceeded to enter commands. The main display screen, which covered the entire front wall, now read   


  


**_COOLANT TRANSFER PROCEDURE INITIATED_**   
**_REACTOR PRESSURE: 52% AND DECEREASING_**   
**_EXPLOSION AVERTED_**   


  
  
  
  
  
  


Fulgore 2's next priority was to return himself, and this building, to its rightful time. Repairs would be impossible so long as they were stuck in the past. Everything was in a haze, his circuitry having been kicked in. He did manage to recall that Jago disabled the option to TimeShift from any gate except Echo. With that in mind, Fulgore 2 took the steps necessary to produce the result he wanted...... 

PASSWORD INVALID SYSTEM RESPONSE   
BETA2018956830183965013896520385621 LOCATE TIMESHIFT PREFERENCE   
ALL RELEVANT FILES DELETED SYSTEM RESET   
2-15816-28361-285612-6528365-83652-8   
ERROR TIMESHIFT.   
PLEASE REENTER A NEW GATE   
CONFIRM COMMAND "NO GATE"   
"NO GATE" CONFIRMED"   
PLEASE REENTER A NEW DESTINATION   
CONFIRM NEW DESTINATION "+2132:04:16:32"   
"+2132:04:16:23" DESTINATION CONFIRMED TIMESHIFT IN *00:01:14* 

With that accomplished, Fulgore slid down from the back of the chair. He gave himself a   
few seconds to gather himself, then crawled over to another control panel. 

TELEPORT SYSTEMS DAMAGED ESTIMATE 3 DAYS FULL REPAIR   
INITIATE EMERGENCY TELEPORT   
**PLEASE WAIT, DIVERTING NECESSARY POWER**   
SELECT PARAMETERS FOR TELEPORT   
SELECT OBJECT(S) FOR TELEPORT   
CONFIRM ONE (1) "ROBERT SHERIDAN"   
SELECT DESTINATION   
CONFIRM "ULTRATECH CONTROL ROOM"   
TELEPORT 2   
SELECT OBJECT(S) FOR TELEPORT   
CONFIRM "ALL "   
SELECT DESTINATION   
CONFIRM "MAIN CONFERENCE HALL: ULTRATECH CORPORATION"   
INITIATING TELEPORT... 

That was the last thing Fulgore 2 was able to do. His last energy reserve failed, and his monitors went from blurred vision, to static, and then to nothingness. The artificial life ceased to live, not like a fire burning it's last flame, but more like an appliance being unplugged.   
Robert Sheridan, the President of Ultratech, as his kingdom crumbled around him, had decided to sit down in his chair in his plush office and watch as his company fell to the ground. A few seconds, and a flash of blue light later, he found himself in the Control Room. Someone had teleported him here. He took a look around; the room had been badly damaged. Fulgore 2 lay dead near a computer terminal. Sheridan took a look at the terminal readout. It displayed that there was a TimeShift in progress sending Ultratech back to the present. It also read that every living being in the building had been teleported to the Main Conference Hall. He knelt down by the deactivated cyborg.   
"To the last, eh?" He said. "Don't worry; you've done me a great favor and I intend to repay you. I will repair you and program you to destroy those responsible for your death." He folded the cyborg's arms across his chest and headed for the Conference Hall to see who was there.   


Present Day   
New York City   


Rain fell unmercifully from the dark gray skies. It punched the tops of the skyscrapers and kicked the roads and sidewalks. The people, most of whom were carrying umbrellas, walked about quickly so that they could get out of the rain as fast as possible. At least, most of the people. There were a group of characters standing in a soggy alleyway, who looked as if they had nowhere better to go.   
Behind them, a few vagrant sparks of blue energy flared up in the alleyway. These sparks eventually mutated into a circle, which expanded. The center of the circle filled with swirling blue and white colors. Suddenly, Jago emerged from the energies, falling roughly on the pavement below him. Within seconds of his departure, the colors died out and the circle collapsed on itself. Jago let himself lay on the ground for a couple of moments. It was the first rest he had gotten in weeks. Ignoring the cold rain, hard ground, and the nuisance of at least one broken bone and many cuts and bruises, it was almost comfortable. Jago's peace was soon interrupted by a presence in front of him. Looking up, Jago beheld a beautiful sight.   
She was a modest 5'7". She had dark black hair that trickled down to her back; some of it strayed in front of her face. Her green eyes hid under some of her hair; but the hair couldn't cover all of her face, including her prominent jawbones and full, red lips. She wore a skintight green leotard, with knee high boots of the same color. Like Jago, she too was bruised and cut, but her injuries only seemed to add to her charm.   
"What took you so long?" Orchid asked him.   
Jago got up slowly. Despite the rain, he removed his hood and facemask. Like Orchid, he had prominent jawbones, but they only seemed to add to his overall boyish look.   
"I was cleaning the mess you left." Jago said, half smiling.   
"What about Ultratech?" Orchid asked.   
"They've either been blown to bits, or if Fulgore 2 had an ounce of energy left, which I doubt, they're stranded in the distant past where they can't cause any trouble."   
"Could this really be it? Did we take care of Ultratech?"   
"I don't know. I'd like to think so, but something just doesn't feel right." Jago noticed for the first time who else was with Orchid. Tusk stood awkwardly a few feet behind Orchid. At 6'11", Tusk was truly fearsome. He had mangy blond hair that he pulled back in a ponytail. He had a flat brow and a square, hardened face. There was an interesting snake tattoo running across his chest and back. He wore nothing but a buffalo hide around his waist. In his arms, he was carrying the Amazonian queen Maya. She had long, curly blond hair that was dripping wet from the rain. Like Tusk, here only coverings were well placed leopard skins. She lay unconscious in Tusk's arms. The Chinese ninja girl Kim Wu was standing off to the side. She had short red hair that was tied behind her. Although she had brown eyes and a rounder face, the seventeen-year-old almost looked like a younger Orchid. She wore a purple silk garment with light blue trim, and dragons embroidered on the sides. She looked around nervously at the concrete jungle she was standing amidst.   
Jago gave Orchid a look. "And them?"   
Orchid shrugged. "It was either bring them here or leave them in Ultratech. Given the options..."   
"What about contaminating the time line?"   
"Oh well. I don't think any major catastrophes will be spawned from bringing them here."   
Jago wiped his eyes. "What about TJ?"   
Orchid looked away. "I couldn't find him anywhere. I ran out of time so I had to leave. But TJ's resourceful; I'm sure he got out of there one way or another."   
Tusk went over to Orchid and said something in Swedish, his native language. She couldn't understand him, but she knew he was trying to remind them of Maya's critical condition.   
Orchid turned back to Jago. "Look, Maya was badly hurt in her fight with Gargos. She needs to be rushed to the hospital. I'll take her; I want you to stay here with Kim and Tusk. I don't want them to be seen in the hospital, we already have enough unanswerable questions on our hands." Before she finished the sentence, she was already on her way to a pay phone to call 911. Jago told Kim, using what little Chinese he knew, of what Orchid had said. Kim conveyed it to Tusk, using what little Swedish she knew, who didn't seem to like it at all. Before he could protest, Orchid came back.   
"An ambulance is on it's way." She took Maya from Tusk's arms and turned to Jago again. "Take them back to my apartment; do you know where it is?"   
Jago looked up in the air. "I think I know where the building is..."   
"It's room 703. If you can't get a key from maintenance, then break the lock. Get those two some street clothes. I have some credit cards somewhere around if you need to use them. Wait for me there; I'll be back as soon as Maya's condition has stabilized." Jago nodded. He led the two warriors away as Orchid stood at the curb, holding Maya, waiting for the ambulance. 

Present Day   
Ultratech Corporation: Conference Hall 

The doors to the Conference Hall opened slower than usual. It seemed as if the whole building was falling apart. Robert Sheridan observed everyone in the room; there were not as many as he expected. Matt Robinson, one of his best computer experts and loyal employees, almost instantly greeted him.   
"Man, am I glad to see you Mr. Sheridan!" Robinson said happily. "When I figured out that all living things in Ultratech had been brought here, and I didn't see you, I thought for the worst..."   
"So, who all is here?" Sheridan said.   
"Not a lot of people. We have about ten or so Ultratech employees, and some strange looking characters I can't even describe..."   
Sheridan looked further down the room. A few feet from him was the werewolf named Sabrewulf. He had mangy gray fur, and looked almost more like a dog than a wolf. His arms from his shoulders down to his wrists were made of metal, and he wore a pair of dirty red pants. He had been beaten and he was unconscious, but he was alive and stable. Also unconscious and propped up against a wall was the demon lord Gargos. Gargos was a large, purple gargoyle, who, even unconscious, made for a frightening sight. Lying on a table was the disgraced boxer TJ Combo. His curly black hair was cut in a flat top, and the sides and back of his head was shaved clean. He had an eye patch over his left eye. He wore a loose tank top which was patterned after the American flag. He also wore green and brown military camouflage pants. His fists were bandaged heavily, but he wore no boxing gloves.   
Sheridan knew opportunity when he saw it. He called for the three of his employees. "You three, take that fighter on the table over there. Take him to the Experiment Hall. Do something.......creative. Use your imagination! His arms are cybernetic to begin with, see if you can't do something interesting with that. And see if you can't replace that eye he lost when he fought Riptor." The three employees nodded and carried Combo off.   
Sheridan turned back to Robinson. "Come with me. We're going back to the Control Room. I want to see if there is some sort of repair program for Fulgore."   


New York General Hospital: Emergency Room Waiting Area   


Orchid impatiently paced across the room. It had been 20 minutes since she rushed Maya in. Somebody should have come out by now to update her on the situation. Finally, the doctor came out from behind the restricted doors.   
"Are you the one who brought the girl here?" The doctor asked.   
"Yes, I am. How is she?" Orchid said.   
"She's in critical condition. We've stabilized her for right now. She took one hell of a beating; internal bleeding, bruised organs, shattered and broken ribs and bones, what happened to her?"   
"I'd rather not say."   
The doctor eyed the dark hared woman in front of him. She was dripping wet, barely dressed, and she wasn't the perfect picture of health either. Her bruises were already starting to show, she had multiple cuts, and a few places on her skimpy leotard were covered in blood. The woman she brought in had been wearing less; nothing but a small garment made from leaves.   
"Hmm. I'm afraid that in cases like this, we have to notify the authorities..."   
Orchid bent over and pulled something out of her boot. She showed him her FBI ID card and said dryly, "I am the authorities. My code name is Orchid and that woman's code name is Maya. We were on an undercover mission and it fell apart. That's all you need to know."   
"I see. Well, ah, nothing further is going to happen here for a while, she's still in bad shape and we need to wait for the proper staff and equipment before we operate. But her condition is stable, there won't be any changes for the better, or worse, right now. You may go home, or wherever, if you like."   
"Fine. Advise me of any changes. Here-" She ripped out a page of a magazine nearby on a coffee stand. She then snatched the doctor's pen. "Contact me at this number, no, better yet, email me at this address. You do have email, right?"   
"Yes, of course ma'am."   
"And one more thing; remember what I told you was all you need to know? Well, that's all you need to know. No one else need hear that story. And for all purposes, I didn't say anything to you. Comprehend?"   
"Yes ma'am." The doctor was obviously intimidated as he went back behind the restricted doors.   
Orchid smiled to herself. "Pulling rank is one of the few pleasures of my line of work."   


Ultratech Corporation: Control Room   


"Robinson, how are we ever going to get into those Fulgore files?" Sheridan sat in front of the main CPU terminal, quite frustrated. The message "INVALID PASSWORD-ACCESS DENIED" flashed in front of him. The man who created the Fulgore cyborg, Dr. Parkins, had hidden everything relating to the Fulgore series assault cyborg with a delicate password system. Fulgore 1 had also killed him after he tried to deactivate it when he discovered Ultratech's true intentions with the cyborg.   
Robinson shook his head. He didn't know the password, or even where to start. However, inspiration soon struck. "Hey, let's try something. You can't store a file in a password protected system unless it's Alpha Level Priority, right?" Sheridan nodded. "And the password system itself is a Charlie Level Priority, right?"   
"Yes, I made it that way for maximum security. Those insignificant systems have less chance of being broken into."   
"In that case, let's turn off the computer system!"   
"What? This system is designed for continual operation, it's not designed to shut down..."   
"I know, but if we turn it off then reboot, systems will be restored according to priority, right? Meaning all Alpha level systems, and documents will be restored, then Bravo, then Charlie..."   
"I see where you're going...the Fulgore files will be one of the first things restored, but the password system will be one of the last..."   
"Yes! If we can get in quick enough, we can get the file we need!"   
"Good idea. Remind me to give you a raise later on. But first, I want you to send an email to all the employees who were left behind when we took our little jaunt through time. I want everyone back here on the double to repair things. Starting but not ending with this Control Room."   
"Yes sir." Robinson jogged to another computer terminal to send that email. Sheridan ducked under the computer terminals and started fidgeting with the wires. There was an emergency shut down switch hidden somewhere, but Sheridan couldn't see it.   
"Robinson, are you done with that email?" Sheridan called out. "Help me look for the shut down switch." Robinson got on his hands and knees and started to crawl around looking for the shut down switch. After about five minutes of crawling, Sheridan found it.   
"Here we go, I knew it was around here." Sheridan threw the switch. All the monitors began to blank out, one by one, starting with the large one in the center. The lighted computer terminals also lost power. When everything was still, Sheridan flipped the switch back to the on position. He jumped up from the floor and went to the main computer terminal. Robinson stood over his shoulder. The large monitor went from static, to a blue screen, then proceeded to display initial startup procedures. 

INIT-_-_-RESTART ULTRATECH COMPUTER SHUT DOWN CAUSE SWITCH   
DEACTIVATION STATION 17 ALERT COMMAND STRUCTURE OF POSSIBLE SECURITY BREACH   
----------- ----------- -----------   
NO FOREIGN SYSTEMS/PROGRAMS FOUND   
BEGIN ALPHA LEVEL PRIORITY SYSTEM RESTORATION   
---------------------------------------- 

Sheridan and Robinson waited patiently for the Parkins system to reboot. 

RESTORE "KILLER INSTINCT FILES" ----------------------------------   
RESTORE PARKINS SYSTEM ---------------------------------------- 

"There it is!" Robinson exclaimed. Sheridan entered the system. 

PASSWORD INVALID ACCESS DENIED   
***WARNING, UNABLE TO DENY ACCESS, CHARLIE LEVEL PRIORITY SYSTEMS ARE OFF LINE***   
*****REPORTING UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS IN MAIN LOG*****   
X//DIRECTORY PARKINS FILES   
TELEPORT DEVICES   
WEAPON DEVELOPMENT   
CYBERNETIC BRAIN THEORY   
ROBOT FUNCTIONALITY FILES   
TERMINAL TO UNIT INTERFACE   
FULGORE SERIES A ASSAULT CYBORG   
FULGORE SERIES B ASSAULT CYBORG   
EXPERIMENTAL PROTOTYPE FULGORE-X 

"What is this Fulgore-X?" Sheridan asked. He rested his chin in his hands, looking deeply into the monitor. "Only one way to find out..." Sheridan entered the Fulgore-X directory. A statistics page came up with figures and diagrams.   
"No..." Robinson exclaimed, "I can't be reading this right...that....that means that.....no....."   
"I'm reading the same thing." Sheridan whispered in half shock, "this means that...there's another Fulgore cyborg."   
Within only a few moments, Robert Sheridan and Matt Robinson were running down the hallway en route to Dr. Parkins office. The statistics sheet they read for "Fulgore-X" said that there was another Fulgore cyborg hidden in the floor of Dr. Parkins office. Before they left the Control Room, they booted up Dr. Parkins diaries to play on his office terminal.   
Robinson turned to Sheridan. "Can it really be another cyborg? What are its directives? How powerful is it?"   
"That's what we're about to find out." Sheridan replied. After a run that seemed to last an eternity, they got to Dr. Parkins office. Robinson was more excited than a kid who had just scored the winning touchdown in Pony League Football.   
"Where is that wall panel? When we push down on it, the floor over here should open up..."   
"Patience, patience now. First let's view the diaries. That should give us some insight before we go playing around with a new cyborg." Sheridan sat down at Parkins desk. He turned on the monitor and accepted the feed from the Control Room. Parkins face appeared on the monitor. He was an old man, all hairs gray, and his face starting to sag like potato sacks hung from trees. Sheridan cued the video. 

"November 18th. Sometime in the afternoon. This is the first and possibly the last diary entry concerning Fulgore-X. 

"I knew that Ultratech's intentions with the Fulgore cyborg were less than wholesome. They have control of the second one, and at this rate, they'll soon find out about the first one and get control of that too. I don't think I'll be able to deactivate either cyborg. That's why I've decided to make Fulgore-X. 

"Fulgore-X will be the most advanced cyborg yet. I have figured out how to correct some of the flaws and inconsistencies found in the first. I now know of a better plasma energy conversion method, improving efficiency by 350%. Weapons will have a 600% increase in power. Fulgore-X's cybernetic brain will also be the most advanced yet. Overall, this will be a far superior cyborg. 

"This cyborg's primary function will be to take down Ultratech, and destroy Fulgore Assault Cyborg Series A and B. It's other main directive will be to serve and protect the common good. It will remain hidden until I feel it's necessary to retaliate against Ultratech with extreme force. When I feel it necessary, I will activate the cyborg, but it will remain non-functional. It will only reach 100% functionality if either I activate it, or my life signs no longer register on the unit's internal scanner. 

"End transmission." 

"I knew it was too good to be true." Robinson sighed. "That thing is programmed to destroy us."   
Sheridan frowned. "There's no program that cannot be erased. Let's bring Fulgy up and cart him down to the basement and reprogram him. Contact one of those three working on TJ Combo and have him bring the Fulgore 2 cyborg down to the basement as well. I want to integrate the experiences and memories of Fulgy 2 into X. Hopefully I can port some of 2's loyalty as well." Robinson pressed a panel on the wall control behind Sheridan. He contacted Manson in the Experiment room and gave him Sheridan's instruction. Sheridan got up from his seat and began to study the walls.   
The clue to finding Fulgore-X was quite a riddle; "The claw points to the wall, the wall uncovers the secret in the floor, the secret uses a claw." To Sheridan, that was one of the dumbest riddles he had ever heard. Where was he going to find a claw? As soon as he asked himself, he realized what the riddle meant.   
"Robinson - don't touch anything on that desk!" Sheridan snapped. Robinson pulled his hand away as if a snake had bitten it. Sheridan went back to the desk. Near the front of the desk, there was a model of the Fulgore 1 cyborg. Its left hand rested on its right shoulder. Its right hand was extended, claw unsheathed, pointing at a portion of the left wall. "Robinson, go to the wall over there." Sheridan got on his knees and looked straight along the model claw. "Move over to your left, more, more, stop there! Now bring your hand up slowly, slowly, little more, right there. Now push!" Robinson pushed the wall. The small portion his hand was resting on collapsed into the wall. There were clicking sounds as the floor under Sheridan began to give way. Sheridan leaped from where he stood. A white capsule emerged from the ground. The front was completely glass, showing some blue liquid inside. Nothing else was visible from the vantage point. Around the sides and back of the capsule were a large keyboard input device, and a small monitor. The capsule finally stopped rising and secured itself on the floor. Sheridan had to pull himself from awe and return to reality.   
"C'mon, let's find the wheels on this thing and move it down to the basement, we've got work to do."   


New York: Orchid's Apartment   


"Hey guys, I'm back!" Jago entered through the door of Orchid's apartment. He was carrying two bags from The Gap. He looked at Tusk and Kim Wu, who were sitting on the couch, watching television, and looking completely confused by it. They were watching an episode of the X-Files; Jago didn't blame them for being confused.   
"C'mon, enough of that. It's time to get dressed into your street clothes. You can't go around New York looking like savages. Not for too long. You might start a trend. I couldn't find anything for you to wear here so I took O's credit card and did a little shopping. Kinda maxed it out, heh heh, she won't mind too much, I guess, and if she does, well, I'm the higher degree black belt. Kim, here's your clothes, you're the smarter one, I guess I don't have to explain the technique of getting dressed to you." Jago gave her the bag in his left hand. She looked somewhat puzzled, and stared at the bag as if it were a new enemy, or venomous reptile ready to bite her at the slightest movement. Jago gave Tusk the bag in his right hand.   
"Since your idea of Sunday best is a brand new buffalo hide, I guess you'll need the dressing lesson." Jago reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of Calvin Klein boxer shorts. He held up one finger. "First" he said. Jago demonstrated one leg through, the other leg, then pull up. Putting the boxers back into the bag, he pulled out the socks. He held up two fingers. "Second." He showed Tusk putting the sock over the foot and pulling it up. He repeated the number and demonstration method for the jeans, shirt, and hat. "There ya go, you're all set. Tusk, why don't you take the bathroom and Kim can get dressed in the bedroom". They both looked at him with confused looks. "C'mon get up," Jago said taking both by the arm and gently yanking them up. He led the two ancient warriors to the different rooms. "Tusk, you're here in the bathroom, Kim, you're here in the bedroom, and there ya go. Go on now, get dressed, and don't forget to close the door. Good luck, I think you'll need it." Tusk and Kim retreated into the separate rooms and closed the doors.   
"This'll be a good laugh." Jago commented as he jumped on the couch. In a way, he didn't feel too different from them. His way of life, everything he was used to, was gone now. When he discovered that the Tiger Spirit was Gargos in disguise, he could no longer keep his faith. He wasn't a foreign stranger to modern society; every now and then the students of the Tiger Shrine were allowed vacation time from worship and meditation to do what they pleased. Sometimes they got a month a year, maybe two or three, Jago was one of the lucky ones who actually got a whole year. He enjoyed touring the east, Europe, France and England, the great cities like Paris and London. He sometimes visited the United States, which was radically different from Europe. Now that he knew his only family was in the US, it wasn't even an option to live anywhere else. He would need a career, a place to live, and everything else necessary for life in America.   
Before he could finish worrying about what to do, both bedroom and bathroom doors opened almost simultaneously and Tusk and Kim emerged. Jago was blown away that both of them got it right. Tusk's dirty, mangy blond hair was now hidden under a San Francisco 49ers baseball cap. He wore a Jerry Rice 49er uniform. He wore a baggy pair of Levi blue jeans, which almost completely covered his Air Jordan shoes. Tusk looked as if he wanted to jump out of it all and back into his buffalo hide.   
Kim wore a short, white, loose tank top, and a blue pair of cutoffs. She wore pink socks around her ankles and Women's Reebok shoes. She too looked like she wanted to leap out of her "Generation X" outfit and back into the fine garment from the past she donned, made from the finest silks acquired from India and large trade ship convoys.   
This was the funniest thing Jago had seen in a while. "Ha ha ha! I thought that when Fulgore blew away that mountain, or when Gargos did that power up thing, I had seen everything, but no! Now I've seen everything! Tusk! My man! You have mastered the street thug look in no time! Pretty soon ladies will be hiding their purses when you walk by! And Kim! Try not to get too many dates for Saturday night girl!" Both Kim and Tusk looked confused and uncomfortable as Jago laughed.   
At that point, Orchid returned from the hospital. Kim and Tusk was the first thing she saw. She tried to hold a laugh for as long as she could, but then finally let one loose. "You're creative, y'know that Jago? I would have put Tusk in a baseball jersey instead of a football one....."   
"I think he looks better in red. Distracts from that deep tan he has." Jago said, feigning fashion sense. "Too much wild bore chasing in the middle of the searing day. So, how's Maya?"   
Orchid took a seat on the couch. "She's in bad shape, but she's stable. They'll operate probably tomorrow."   
Jago joined her on the couch. "So, she's stable, that's good. What do we do now?"   
"Well, I need to find something to do with Kim and Tusk, prepare my report, answer questions from those oh-so annoying reporters......"   
"I guess I could be looking for a new job, apartment, new clothes, adjusting to life in America..."   
Orchid sighed. "You wanna watch some TV?"   
"Sure, what's on?"   


Ultratech Corporation: Basement   


Robinson sighed as he sat on top of a table. To his immediate left was the Fulgore 2 cyborg; there were many wires running from Fulgore 2 to the capsule containing Fulgore-X. Ahead of him was the capsule. Sheridan was working hard at one of the computer terminals, trying to rewrite Fulgore-X's programming. Sheridan was not a good computer programmer; in fact, Robinson was much better than he was. However, Sheridan insisted on doing the reprogramming himself. He had already inserted the new directives; 

FULGORE-X PRIMARY DIRECTIVES 

DIRECTIVE 1 - ALWAYS SERVE AND PROTECT THE ULTRATECH   
ORGANIZATION AND ITS CAUSES AND GOALS 

DIRECTIVE 2 - DESTROY THOSE WHO WOULD STAND AGAINST ULTRATECH 

The main goal Sheridan had to accomplish was to get rid of the original directives; 

DIRECTIVE 1 - ALWAYS SERVE AND PROTECT THE COMMON GOOD 

DIRECTIVE 2 - STOP THOSE WHO WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE   
ENFORCEMENT OF THE COMMON GOOD 

DIRECTIVE 3 - DESTROY ULTRATECH AT ANY AND ALL COSTS 

The way Dr. Parkins had designed the system, the directives could not be deleted. Sheridan was trying to bury them as deep into Fulgore-X's systems as he could, and perhaps if he could convince the main computer that the old directives had low-level importance, then he could delete them. The directives had already been shoved down under a million systems and subsystems, but Sheridan wasn't satisfied yet. Unlike the other Fulgores, the directives for Fulgore-X were optional guidelines. But he still didn't like the set that Dr. Parkins had installed.   
Robinson was almost asleep. This had been the longest day in his life. He was half asleep as is. That's why when he heard the thunderous stomping, he was sure it was a dream. Sheridan was deeply engrossed in his work, but soon he heard it too.   
"Robinson, you hear that stomping?" Sheridan asked.   
"You hear it too?"   
"Yeah...like footsteps...heavy footsteps..." They both stared at the doorway across the room. The thumping increased in both sound and vibration with every thump. Sheridan and Robinson's hearts thumped at a rate that would make the stair step thumping envious. Finally, the culprit of the thunder appeared in the doorway. It was Gargos.   
Sheridan sighed. "For the love of God man! Get some sneakers, you're going to give someone a heart attack like that!"   
Gargos surveyed the room. He still had a primitive mind and couldn't fully comprehend everything around him. He did see the body of one of his greatest enemies, Fulgore 2, stretched out on a table. Many wires ran from him to some sort of...thing...in the center of the room. Sheridan was working hard on it. This meant that their first priority was to fix this artificial life, rather than attend to the demon lord's wounds.   
"What...are...you...doing…with.....Fulgore!?" Gargos demanded.   
"It'd take too long to explain." Sheridan blew Gargos off. "Maybe later, OK? I'm kinda busy right now. Just call it cyborg improvement."   
To Gargos, this was the greatest insult. Not only were they ignoring the wounds he suffered in his fight with Maya, they were ignoring him and giving full attention to the fake life. Gargos marched straight across the room, not caring about the three tables he knocked over on the way. He grabbed Sheridan's hand.   
"Stop." He said sharply.   
Sheridan looked up at Gargos, somewhat annoyed. "Look, I'm gonna need this hand. Do you mind?"   
"Stop. No fix.....Fulgore."   
"You know, I really don't have the -"   
"Stop!" Gargos threw Sheridan's hand into the capsule. Sheridan howled in pain, gripping his wrist. Robinson jumped from his seat on the table. He didn't know whether or not to run or attempt to fight. Gargos decided for him by punching him solidly in the stomach. Robinson doubled over and fell across the table. Gargos grabbed the Fulgore 2 cyborg by the head and held it up.   
"You die by Jago's hand. You no deserve life. If you not dead before, you will be now." Gargos took his other hand and clutched Fulgore by the midsection. He reared back and slammed the lifeless cyborg into the wall. He brought his arm around and planted Fulgore 2 into the floor. Sheridan jumped at Gargos but Gargos caught he and threw him aside for now. Gargos raised his monstrous foot and stomped Fulgore's chest in. Small electronic parts raced across the floor.   
Robinson was crawling under the table. He grabbed a gun and was going to shoot Gargos from behind. Gargos caught him in the corner of his eye. He leapt up near the roof and used his wings to float behind Robinson. He took his left hand and pressed it against Robinson's chest. He then took his right fist and he squarely punched Robinson in the back, shattering his spine and killing him instantly. He threw the lifeless body aside. Next was Sheridan. Sheridan was on his knees, trying to stand. Gargos reared his fist back to deliver a punch that would shatter Sheridan's skull. He conceived a better idea though. Sheridan was the president of Ultratech, so his body would be useful in the future. Gargos took his right hand and grasped Sheridan's face. His grip was so tight that Sheridan couldn't breathe. Sheridan desperately reached for the capsule, a steel rod, the gun Robinson dropped, anything that would save him. The more he tried, the tighter Gargos's grip got. Finally, Sheridan's struggle ended as he could feel his own life slipping out in places air couldn't. Sheridan went limp in Gargos's hand. Gargos kept his grip until he was completely sure that Sheridan was dead.   
Gargos let go of Sheridan and surveyed the damage around him. Sheridan and Robinson were dead, Fulgore was destroyed, the room was in shambles, but the capsule stood untouched. Gargos felt the urge to knock it down or throw it into the wall, but he left it as is; his impulsive mission was accomplished. He slung Sheridan's body over his shoulder and as he took one more look at the destruction he caused, the only word he could say was "Hmph." He strutted out of the basement, heading for the Dungeon.   
The room stood still; the only activity was from the capsule. An occasional blinking light and once in a while, a beep. The capsule itself was out of place-a structure for a new life, surrounded by the dead. And with the only two people who knew about Fulgore-X eliminated, it seemed as if the capsule would always be potential, never reality.   
It seemed.   
From inside the capsule came a small, low whine. It gradually increased in intensity, until the glass began to crack. The crack followed an outline of the outside of the capsule, as if made by a laser. The crack stopped where it started and then everything was still again.   
For a moment, then the glass exploded in an instant, suddenly and with no warning. The blue fluid pushed its way out of the capsule violently and filled the room. The fluid gushed around for a moment, carrying with it some of Fulgore 2's parts. After a few moments, the fluid calmed down and lay still on the floor. Its calmness would only be temporary; it was once again agitated as a pair of black cybernetic boots stepped out of the capsule and onto the floor.   
  


Ultratech Corporation: Stairs Leading Down to "The Dungeon"   


The demon lord Gargos clanked heavily down an old set of stone steps down into the earth beneath Ultratech. Over his shoulder he carried the dead body of Ultratech's former President, Robert Sheridan. The stairs were narrow and twisted in a way so that you couldn't see more than five steps at a time. The stairs were well lit by torches that seemed undisturbed for centuries.   
The Dungeon was well named for two reasons. One was that it was isolated deep underground yet its imprisoning walls were stone. Thousands of years ago, even before the natural time of Gargos, there had been an ancient dungeon there for those souls who committed major crimes. They were chained up and thrown down, with the door secured behind the jailer, and the inmates were forgotten.   
The second was that it was actually a prison. It was well known that Ultratech "generously" offered overloaded state and federal prisons space under the Ultratech compound to store death row inmates. Unknown to most, was that Ultratech and the government cut a secret deal. Ultratech gave the government a place to keep the lowest of criminals, in return, the government would forget the real reason Ultratech wanted them - to conduct experiments in which the human guinea pig may not be human after they were done. Some may even be killed. The prisoners were kept in an isolated part of the Dungeon under high tech security. Before the last KI tournament, which resulted in Ultratech falling 2000 years into the past, there was an average of one to two prisoners being removed daily.   
Gargos knew the dungeon well. In his time, he used it often to shelter himself when an unnecessary war raged. Gargos defined "unnecessary" as those battles where nothing major was at stake - personal rivalry, loot, or for some small part of land. To Gargos, it was idiotic to fight over such small things when a larger prize could be sought - the world itself.   
Having completed the journey down the steps, Gargos began across the dungeon. About four hundred yards straight ahead from the doorway, the stone floor stopped abruptly and a chasm started. It was dark and the ground falling down beneath the edge was stone covered. Gargos knew that someone had to lay that stone and he wondered how many died to make a danger appealing to the eye. The chasm was darker than a night without a moon; Gargos didn't want to guess how far down it went. The chasm was about five hundred yards across and on the other side, was a stone wall; a ledge at about the same level as the Dungeon floor, and a door along that ledge-solid steel. Gargos left that door to mystery rather than fly across it to find out, even though he did don a pair of wings spouting from his back and attached to his arm down to his wrists.   
There was an area about three hundred yards to the left and right and leading up to the edge that was relatively obstacle free. A mile high stone pillar keeping the earth from above from caving in occasionally interrupted the openness. To the distant left and right began a series of stone arches and doorways making for caves and tunnels. These areas were not lit and seemed to contrast the dungeon itself.   
Gargos went down what seemed to be a random tunnel in the path to the right of the doorway. He knew well where he was going. After five minutes of walking down the dark hall with Sheridan across his shoulder, he came to a long stairway that led straight up. Gargos dumped Sheridan at the base of the steps and went up.   
The stairs led to a stone chair. It was a throne Gargos had chiseled for himself during one of those insignificant wars. From the chair, an open area of the ceiling could be viewed. Of all the places in the dungeon, it was the only made of its natural dirt and hardened rocks. Gargos concluded that they didn't have enough workers left to kill in order to cement the ceiling canopy. There were many carvings in the rocks, which suggested that some unimportant people remained that would risk life to scratch up rocks.   
Gargos seated himself in the chair. It was cold and hard, and would be quite uncomfortable to a human. Gargos enjoyed not being bothered by adversity while he could. What he planned would make his physical strength no stronger than the humans he planned to conquer. His mental strength, however, would increase exponentially. Here in this foreign time, Gargos felt that a strong mind was needed first before and physical skills would be useful.   
Gargos closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Every muscle tensed and quivered. He was under a great deal of strain. But it would all be worth it. After a few moments, his purple skin began to glow with a fine mist around him. Gargos concentrated until the mist pulled away from his body. The body froze in place as if the life left it.   
And in reality, it did. The mist took the form of Gargos, and then it rushed down the stairs to Sheridan's body. Gargos hesitated for a moment. He had possessed many warriors when it seemed fit. But all were alive. This was a dead body. Gargos wondered if he too would die once he entered the body. Deciding the advantage was far greater than the risk, the mist surrounded Sheridan, then entered him.   
Darkness.   
Blessed, eternal darkness. The darkness that swept in as both a killer of dreams and a reliever of pain. The darkness that was different from a moonless night or closed eyelids. Darkness only the dead experienced. Then it faded, as the dimly lit stairway came into focus.   
Gargos got up from the floor. He was at the bottom of the staircase. Either he had successfully possessed Sheridan, or he fell down the stairs. He looked down at himself. Two long, pink arms with five digits on each. Long, thin, almost obsolete legs. Feet covered with shoes. He was wearing black jeans and a snakeskin belt. A tucked in blue polo shirt completed the ensemble. There was no doubt about it - Gargos was human now.   
It was an incredible rush to possess a dead man. There was no resistance as Gargos often felt. The consciousness of the possessed was never really suppressed, just pushed aside. They always fought back to regain control, which was an annoying struggle. Gargos hardly ever possessed anyone because of the constant struggle, which gave him two enemies; the one he faced on the battlefield and the one he faced inside his head. But now, with Sheridan, Gargos had full control. There was no struggle. Gargos reminded himself to begin possessing dead warriors more often.   
It would take Gargos a few minutes to gain access to Sheridan's brain - and with it all of Sheridan's memories and experiences, but more importantly, Sheridan's 20th century skills including computer programming, and complete access to Ultratech and all it's weapons. Accessing Sheridan's brain would give Gargos something to do on the way out of the dungeon.   


East Wing Hallway   


Gargos had wondered if he crushed Sheridan's face when he killed him.   
Work crews steadily toiled on the walls around Gargos as he walked to the Control Room. Gargos had remembered that Sheridan ordered work to begin immediately before he died. Some workers worked endlessly, not even noticing Sheridan's body stroll down the halls. Some turned to speak, but before words could leave their throats, a startled expression grabbed their faces, then they turned back to their work. Gargos decided to keep his head down as he walked the hallways.   
Walking past a dark hallway, he felt another person nearby, but couldn't see anyone. Gargos was surprised at this; humans had frail bodies, so naturally they had to become more aware of each other to avoid contact whenever possible. As the demon lord, only strong weapons yielded by powerful warriors could ever hope to hurt him. As a result, Gargos the demon lord walked with stride to where he was going, noticing little around him.   
Had Gargos paid more attention to the human instinct, he would have known to jump back before the arm shot around from around the corner and yanked him into the dark hall. He wished he did; the hand was extremely hot.   
Gargos hit the floor with a jolt. Even that was new in a human body. He felt more like a precious piece of pottery that couldn't fall too many ways without suffering injury. A figure grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Gargos wondered when the need for intellect would fade and brute force could be implemented once again.   
A figure thrust himself into Gargos's face. "Remember me?" The figure asked angrily.   
Gargos squinted at his assailant. He wasn't human. He had quite an impressive body though; small, but overpowered to the point that it's muscles showed refinement through his skin. The figure was a lean 5'9. But most noticeable about him was that he was made of fire.   
Not fire, rather molten lava, taken shape into human form. He glowed bright orange and his very sight blinded Gargos.   
"Well, do you remember me?" The man, or creature demanded.   
"I have no idea who in the hell you are."   
The creature's grip tightened around Gargos's neck. Gargos couldn't decide which was worse; the lack of air or the burning fingers.   
"You mean you ruined my life with your damned experiments, forced me to compete in your dumb tournament, then left me to die and you don't remember?!"   
Gargos stared at him, trying to access information in Sheridan's head. It wasn't easy with air not getting to his brain. Gargos brought his leg up and kicked the creature in the stomach. The creature stumbled backwards against the wall. Gargos fell and hit the floor suddenly, but kept his balance. While the creature was doubled over, Gargos took this time to effectively get the information he needed.   
"I know you...your name is Cinder, isn't it? Interesting...Sheridan presumed you for dead after Fulgore knocked you off that building. You seem to have lots of potential...certainly not an asset to be wasted."   
Cinder stared blankly at him. "You don't know me…do you?" For the first time, Cinder looked into the eyes of his enemy. "What...are...you? And what have you done with Sheridan?"   
Gargos concluded that whatever it was that had turned away those workers in the hall had also befallen the eyes of Cinder.   
"A great change has happened Cinder. Walk with me my friend."   


Control Room   


Cinder hadn't laughed as hard since he had been mutated into his current state. "That's a riot! You really expect me to believe that this whole building traveled back 2000 years into the past, and that you had a tournament there, and that you're not Sheridan, just some demon lord in his dead body?! Man, what did you snort this morning!"   
Gargos frowned. He punched in some coordinates into a system that he had never seen before, yet knew more about than anyone else on this planet.   
"I see. The standard American human attitude, 'don't believe it until you see it or have proof.' Understandable, really. So it's up to me to provide the proof, eh?"   
Gargos looked right at Cinder with a half smile. He pressed a flashing red button on the console.   
Before Cinder could comprehend what had happened, he was engulfed by a vertical wave of blue light that started in the center of his body, right down his eyes to between his feet, then divided in two and spread outwards, consuming precious molecules, then dissipating when Cinder was gone.   


South America: Unexplored Mountain Region   


The blue vertical poles appeared again, at the edge of his arms. They moved inward, recreating Cinder until they met at the center. The one blue pole of energy then faded out. Cinder had been teleported.   
In an instant, he has left the cold confines of the Ultratech control room, and was outside, surrounded by mountains. He felt a cold mountain chill. But then again, he felt anything that was less than 120 degrees F.   
Beside him, Gargos stood, taking in the scenery. Absorbing the chill in the air, appreciating the snow of the tops of the mountains. Then he sat down.   
"Hey! What're you doing! Gonna bring me out into the cold like than then just sit down!" Cinder was agitated.   
Gargos shushed him. He was trying to concentrate again. Similar to what happened in the dungeon, his skin began to glow, then the purple mist surrounded him. The mist took the shape of the demon lord as Sheridan's body fell. Gargos stared Cinder in the eye.   
"Still don't believe my story?"   
Cinder looked puzzled at best. "Okay, I believe you, I gotcha. Can we go home now?"   
"Not yet. I would like to put on a demonstration. Cover your face."   
Not fully understanding, Cinder put his hands up over his face, but still looked at the mist before him. Gargos floated to about two meters in front of him. Then, he brought his fingertips together and began concentrating energy in his hands. He did this until he had an energy ball the size of a basketball in his hands. He raised his mist arms as far he could stretch him-as if they were bound by skin. Then, in a violent motion, he brought his arms down and sent the energy ball crashing into earth. At that moment, Cinder understood the command "cover your face."   
Energy erupted from the spot in a brilliant white explosion. Cinder thought that he was dead for sure. He felt the force of a thousand winds threatening to push him to the ends of the earth and back. Then it just stopped. As quickly as it had been created, it was gone. Cinder pulled his arms away from his face. He wondered if another teleport beam had been activated while he wasn't paying attention.   
Everything was gone. Everything in sight. The mountains, the rocks, the snow, everything was gone. All that was left was a crater in the ground extending as far as Cinder could see. He wondered if there was a home left to go back to.   
Gargos turned to Cinder and smiled. "That was one of my weakest attacks."   
Cinder opted not to say anything.   
The Gargos mist returned to Sheridan and reclaimed him. Gargos stood up and brushed himself off. Feeling a little better facing Sheridan's body and not the powerful mist, Cinder dared to speak.   
"Um......can we go back now, or were you planning on blowing something else up?"   
"Heh heh, if I programmed right, the teleport sequence should be starting in a few seconds..."   
As if by cue, the blue beam appeared right between Cinder's eyes and began taking him away again.   


Ultratech Corporation: Control Room   


Once again, the teleport sequence finished, leaving Cinder with an odd after-teleport feeling. Cinder glanced at the monitor next to him and observed the time. He had been taken to wherever he was, thousands of miles from Ultratech, he suspected, watched the world disintegrate before him, and been brought back. All under two minutes.   
Gargos, for the first time since leaving the dungeon, thought to check his face. He peered into one of the blank monitors.   
Sheridan looked like your average, friendly American. He was in his mid 40's, about 5'9, and slender. He had a full head of brown hair despite the tradition of men to lose their hair somewhere around mid 30's. He was clean-shaven and had a square jaw. He looked to be quite the playboy when he was younger. Like most, Sheridan was getting permanent wrinkle lines on his face, which usually only showed when the face was contorted in a position other that normal. Sheridan had the wrinkle leading from the corner of his left nostril to the left corner of his mouth, and the same for the right side. He had the brow wrinkles on his forehead. It only made Sheridan look like more of a "chiseled mature" man. He carried a persona of "your friendly neighbor next door." Gargos was tempted to probe his brain to see if he was planning a block party this weekend. It was hard to believe that a man who looked like this was planning the corporate takeover of the world.   
But Gargos saw what had scared off the workers. His eyes were completely white. All of the "friendly neighbor" look was stolen away by the alien eyes. Gargos had forgotten that the possessed eyes turn all white. For Gargos, at least it made him look more intimidating, rather than the guy you would ask for change for a dollar.   
Cinder, who had been waiting all of five seconds was getting impatient. He wanted to ask him if there was a point to taking out a chunk of Earth like he did, but he figured Gargos would get around to it. Gargos sensed his impatience. He turned around and faced Cinder.   
"Cinder, I want you to join me."   
"Join you? In what?"   
"My conquering of the world."   
Cinder nearly leapt out of his chair to tell him it was impossible. But after witnessing his power display, Cinder didn't doubt Gargos's capability to conquer the world. "Well, after you blew away those mountains, I would think that you don't need any help."   
"Well…you see, I come from the past you know. And we have rituals and traditions to preserve honor. Honor is more important that anything else, including life. According to ritual, a warrior must prove he is worthy of what he seeks, before he can take it. Only by proving himself and laying claim to what he seeks, then can he go about taking it."   
"Uh huh. How're you planning to prove you deserve the world?   
"Killer Instinct."   
"What?" Cinder was confused.   
"The Killer Instinct tournament. This tournament, with potential that was shamelessly wasted for 'pay per view' entertainment, will become a great tournament for the fiercest of warriors. I will be grand champion, and when I defeat the Earth's strongest warrior, that will prove that I am worthy of claiming the world."   
Cinder kept a laugh to himself. He pictured earth's strongest warrior as a nuclear warhead. Seeing Sheridan kicking and punching a nuclear missile was an amusing image to him. He tucked away the image and laugh for later.   
"Good plan, one problem. KI just ended. Orchid won. It's annual you know. The next one won't roll around until next year."   
"And who decides when the next KI tournament will be?" Gargos asked, smiling.   
"Robert Sheridan - oh, I see."   
"Due to high controversy, a winner was never declared of the 7th Killer Instinct tournament. I feel this is unfair to all viewers, so we will hold the 8th KI tournament immediately. In Sheridan's body, I have that power. That's all it takes to get KI going."   
"So why do you need me?"   
"Enter the tournament! Defeat all those who are not worthy of facing me in final battle. And keep order, especially keeping the championship match free of interference. Orchid didn't have the right to fight Eyedol. She lost to Fulgore. It was Jago's right to face the champion. We just can't have that disorder in this tournament."   
"And if I do, what do I get?"   
Gargos stared into the main view screen. It was in a screen saver mode. It was black, with the Ultratech logo in the center. There was a big, red, bold "U" with a "T" in the center. Across the UT, in silver letters, was "Ultratech". The U was larger than the rest of the letters. Gargos decided he didn't like this one and switched it to the Killer Instinct logo. Similar to the Ultratech, the letters K and I were bold red, and in the background. Centered on top of them was "Killer Instinct" , the beginning letters K and I were a little larger than the rest of the letters, all written in capitals. The words were silver and gave the appearance of shining.   
After pretending to think it over for a few moments, Gargos turned back to Cinder. "If you help me profoundly, as I stand, triumphant on top of the world, I will make you general of a continent. How's that sound?"   
Cinder was expecting money. But ruling over a continent didn't sound like a bad alternative. Cinder appeared to be thinking it over for too long in Gargos's opinion.   
"What do you have to lose? Where are you now? A criminal, running from the law, having been horribly mutated. Don't join me, and you'll have a life of running away from me, since I will be ruler of the world. My law enforcement will not be overweight, middle aged cops. My law enforcement will be cold hearted, remorseless killers. If I can figure out how to make them useful, those Fulgore cyborgs may become my policemen. If I can get them working properly to become mighty warriors, not weak, underestimating fools. Do you really want to run from death twenty-four hours a day?"   
Cinder nodded no.   
"Join me, and you get rule of a continent - under me of course. What more could you possibly ask for? And I'll tell you what, I'll sweeten the deal. Right now, you have tremendous power. Problem is you have no control over it. It's not focused or disciplined. At your current state, it will take you about twenty years of supreme meditation and concentration to achieve full potential. I will use my own powers to bring out your full potential, I will make you as strong and as powerful as you could possibly be. What do you say?"   
"Well, sure, I'll join you. Like you said, nothing to lose, everything to gain, right?"   
"Excellent! You can start right away. I need you to round up all loyal Ultratech warriors. At last count, I believe that's Spinal, Riptor, and Sabrewulf. Check on TJ Combo to see if his...modifications are complete. Can you handle that right off the bat?"   
"Sure, yeah. Find Spinal, Rippy, and Sabrepuppy, check on Combo. Gotcha."   
"Good, good! You may go now."   
Cinder got up and proceeded out the control room.   
Gargos continued to stare into the view monitor. He began muttering to himself. "It is good to see your enthusiasm friend. You may prove to be a valuable asset. And if you should perish in the tournament, oh well, some will undoubtedly be slain in my quest. But when I am on top of the world ruling it, I will make sure all the dead have a temple erected in their honor. I think that's only fair."   
  
  



End file.
